Terrapin Station

Lyrics:Robert HunterMusic:Jerry Garcia

This is the second song in Robert Hunter's
Terrapin Station Suite.
In setlists, the first song in the suite, "Lady With A Fan," is often lumped
together with "Terrapin Station" rather than shown as a separate song.

Inspiration, move me brightly
Light the song with sense and color
Hold away despair
More than this I will not ask
Faced with mysteries dark and vast
Statements just seem vain at last
Some rise, some fall, some climb (note 1)
To get to Terrapin

Counting stars by candlelight
All are dim but one is bright
The spiral light of Venus
Rising first and shining best
Oh, from the north-west corner
Of a brand new crescent moon
Where crickets and cicadas sing
A rare and different tune
Terrapin Station
In the shadow of the moon
Terrapin Station
And I know we'll be there soon

(Terrapin)
I can't figure out
(Terrapin)
If it's the end or beginning (note 2)
(Terrapin)
But the train's put it brakes on
(Terrapin)
And the whistle is screaming
Terrapin

Notes(1) in his 1980 recording, Hunter sang "Some rise, some climb, some crawl" and then (in the repeat) "Some rise, some climb, some fall"(2) this is what Garcia sings. But the published lyrics are "if it's an end or the beginning." And Hunter sang "is this an end or a beginning."